Abengoa consortium wins Saudi desalination project contract

MADRID, April 2, 2020

Spanish group Abengoa said its consortium with the engineering and construction company Sepco III has been awarded a contract to build the second largest reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.

The contract for the 600,000-cu-m-per-day desalination plant was awarded by Acwa Power, a company leader in the development, investment, ownership and operation of energy generation and desalinated water.

Besides Acwa Power, the developer consortium includes Gulf Investment Corporation and Al Bawani Water & Power Company. On completion, the desalinated water will be supplied to the state-owned Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), the promoter of this project.

An international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the infrastructures, energy and water sectors, Abengoa said its scope in the project exceeds $200 million.

It will have the same capacity as the desalination plant that Abengoa is currently constructing in Rabigh III, and will guarantee the supply of drinking water to Riyadh, Qassim and Eastern Provinces throughout the year.

As per the deal, the Spanish company will be responsible for the engineering, supply and construction of the Jubail 3A reverse osmosis desalination plant, located to the south of the city of the same name, in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, in the northeast of the country.

It will also build tanks for the storage of treated water with a capacity of one day of production, as well as a photovoltaic solar field.

The scope of work includes seawater intake, pumping, pretreatment, RO system with energy recovery, post-treatment, pumping station, product water storage, effluent treatment, discharge by outfall and field solar photovoltaic, as well as the associated electrical installations that comprise the construction of an electrical substation of 380/33 kV, said the statement from Abengoa.

The project is part of the Saudi government's programme for the promotion of private participation in the country's water sector, it added.-TradeArabia News Service